Create Heavy, Grungy Drop D Progressions

By Eric Hufschmid

Hey guys,

Today we’ve got a hard rock riff writing lesson! We’ll be using drop D and applying fairly standard chord progressions so that our riffs sound heavy, yet poppy enough to be on the radio. Bands like Linkin Park have used this technique quite a bit to create their signature sound. Using common chord progressions always sounds good in a song. It’s memorable and catches the ear immediately. But adding the Drop D element to it, will give you more of the hard rock edge to make it sound heavy!

Have fun, and as always we’d love to see what you guys create! Drop us a link in the comments!

Try using other “common chord progressions” to create other riffs using Drop D. Vary the rhythm and placement of the chords to make your songs sound different. Also try other keys… D Major and D Minor aren’t the only keys this works with. Just look for any key that has some sort of D chord in it.